Getting back on track

I'll admit I can really be on the lazy side, I'm the queen of procrastination. I'm so easily distracted and get side tracked way too much. When I was younger I was so much better at tackling many things at once and doing well at all of them. I'm going to but the blame on parenthood, some how putting the boys priorities over mine, made it really hard to focus on what I need to do. At least that's what I'm telling myself so I don't have to consider it may be hormones, age or personality defect.

There is so much that I want to do and accomplish, but I have to keep my goals  realistic for me, and keep myself focused on just a few things at a time. With so many things distracting me over the past few months, I'm finally getting back on track. I have set my goals and made plans to reach them. Here's a list of the big ones.

• Get my veggie garden installed and grow lots of food
• Train for Climate Ride enough that I'm not walking all the hills and taking SAG to the rest stops
• Learn to make yogurt and bread at home
• Make more meals at home and do better at following my food ethics
• Accept more invitations to do fun things with friends
• Invite friends over more often
• Find new volunteer opportunities
• Write to my elected officials often

I finally feel like I'm actually training for the ride, I'm already over 200 miles for this month and have been doing a little climbing. Now that I understand a little more about climbing, instead of looking at total elevation gain look at feet of gain per mile. My worst day for the Climate ride is just over 70' per mile and I've already done one ride that was 50 miles and over 55' per mile. I'm slowly being introduced to all the epic hills in my area one by one. Some are tougher than others. I'm finding I can do a long gradual hill with out too much trouble, it's when they suddenly change to a steep pitch that I sometimes have to stop. I found it very convenient that the 2 hills I had to walk Costco hill and Oak Leaf were on the 2 rides my hubby set up for me, but was unable to ride with me because he broke his pelvis. I'm also learning a lot about what to put into my body on a long ride. I was unable to finish the final 15 miles of Party Pardee because I didn't fuel well. On the other hand I did surprisingly well on the hottest day of the year thanks to my new love Hammer Fizz tablets. It's also getting easier to not talk myself out of rides when the weather isn't great.

My garden is starting to take shape, we have tilled the new large bed and I'm in the process of putting a boarder on it so I can add several inches of compost. According to my soil analysis I need to add 7 yds of compost for every 100 sf over the course of this year. I have one 4'x6' bed planted with carrots and beets. My large 3'x40' is ready to plant, just waiting to get the trellis installed before I start my beans there. I have 2 smaller beds that need to be tilled and one needs a trellis for the cucumbers. I've had mixed results with my seed starts. As usual all the squash seem to be doing amazing. My peppers are just starting to set their real leaves. The tomatoes seemed to have stalled, I've been advised I may have been over watering, so I've cut back and hope they will recover. My cucumbers are catching up with the squash and have been the fastest growing plant so far. I think I may have over heated my flowers and herbs, so I'll give them a few more days and reseed the pots to see if I can get them to sprout. I've also added some enzymes to the pool area in an attempt to help break down all the roots in hopes to be able to plant there later in the year. I have potatoes growing in a few locations and they seem to be thriving. I just hope I'm able to harvest the ones in the pool bed, I'm worried the roots may make it difficult.

On the cooking front, I've been feeding my family crap lately. I have made a few loaves of bread that were pretty tasty. Still working to find the recipe that will be my standard. I attempted to make a sour dough started without success, I will research and try again. I made my first batch of yogurt, at last something very easy to do. The only thing I have to worry about is forgetting about the hot milk while it's cooling. I was worried that plain yogurt wouldn't go over very well, but both my guys said it was good and have found something to mix into it for a little sweetness. I'm now on a mission to use up things in the freezer in preparation for the summer harvest. The next few weeks could be interesting.

Last weekend the Utility Exploration Center where I've volunteered for the past 4 years had their 5th annual Celebrate the Earth Festival. This is my 4th time at this event and it just keeps getting bigger and better every year. I've been a volunteer and student in the Green Gardener program for the past few weeks and have a few more to go. This is a wonderful program that has been adapted from the professional program which was created by our local water resource boards. I'm learning so much. I've signed up to be considered for the Master Gardener program which is a 16 week workshop that will start in Jan. I'll find out in Sept. if I've been selected. I was recently asked to give a 10 minute presentation to a wonderful group I didn't know existed, Placer Sustain, this is a rather impressive group of individuals and business owners who are getting together to try to create a more sustainable community.

I've had plenty of opportunities to spend social time with friends, my cycling friends know all the great places to eat in our area. I'm loving spending time with friends and trying new restaurants.

I think now that the weather is being a bit more cooperative I'll be making greater progress toward my goals and having fun along the way.